Downtown Ceres will be crowded from 10-11 a.m. this Saturday as hundreds of community members are expected to attend the Crosstown Showdown Parade.

The annual event was created in 2022 to generate additional interest for the Ceres High-Central Valley varsity and junior-varsity football games.

"It brings the city together and builds excitement in our town," Bulldogs' head coach Brett Johnson said.

"It keeps getting better and better," Hawks' leader Derrick Goblirsch stated. "And the support is continuing to grow, too."

The Crosstown Showdown Parade will start and end at Third Street next to Whitmore Park in downtown Ceres.

The parade will feature football players, cheerleaders, bands, color guards and dancers from both high schools.

Spectators are asked to bring lawn chairs and consider carpooling.

Limited parking will be available at the Ceres Unified School District Office (2503 Lawrence Street).

Free tacos and water will also be provided.

"It's great to see the kids get recognized," Goblirsch said. "They work so hard throughout the year. A lot of the work goes unnoticed."

The city of Ceres created the Crosstown Showdown Parade with input from CUSD four years ago.

“This is something we felt would be great for the community,” Mayor Javier Lopez said while talking about the event during a past interview with the Ceres Courier. “As a group, we were able to pull it off. It’s going to get bigger and better.”

This year's varsity and junior-varsity football games will staged at 7 p.m. and 5 p.m., respectively, on Oct. 30 at CUSD Stadium.

Ceres High's varsity team claimed the Ceres Classic perpetual trophy with a 36-7 win against Central Valley in front of a sellout crowd last fall.

The Bulldogs improved their all-time record to 4-15 versus the Hawks.

Johnson will coach against Central Valley for the 20th time next Thursday.

Goblirsch and members of his coaching staff have ties to Ceres High.

Goblirsch (class of 2005) played quarterback for the Bulldogs during his senior and junior years. He helped lead Ceres High to a share of the Modesto Metro Conference title in 2004.

Central Valley assistant coaches Brian Borges (class of 2005), Ramon Coral (class of 2015) and Chris Lubinsky (class of 2017) also enjoyed success while playing football at Ceres High.

"There's no animosity," Johnson said. "It's a football game. Even though they wear another color, they're still kids in our community."

"You want to win the game but there's no hatred," Goblirsch added. "There's mutual respect."